LAD #17

Sojourner Truth begins her lecture by presenting the audience with a speech on equality and the harsh impact of race on society. She states that she just does as much as men do, yet they don't treat her like she deserves. Throughout the speech she presents her audience with the same question--"ain't I a woman?" She says how other men state women need to be "helped into carriages" and "lifted over ditches," yet no one does those things for her. She questions the rights given to her as both a woman and a colored American citizen. She wonders why is it that intellect has such an impact on her position in society, yet those around her aren't giving her the chance to better herself. They always seem to have the upper hand when it comes to intellect and education. She asks the question "If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full?" Truth goes on to attack the idea that women shouldn't be given equal rights to men because God wasn't a woman, but God had to have come from somewhere, right? She latches on to the point that God was borne by a woman, and they therefore deserved an equal spot in society that wasn't below man. Truth concludes her speech by stating that if the first woman God created was able to turn the world upside down, than they ought to have the strength and power to flip it right side up again.